Forex Flash: Asia supported by Chinese data – BTMU

Derek Halpenny, European Head of Global Markets Research at the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ notes that subtle verbal intervention by Draghi looks to have proved enough for now.

He notes that the Asian equity markets are largely higher on the day although Japan is a clear under performer after Sony recorded an eighth consecutive quarter of losses – the share price fell just over 10% on the day.

He writes, “The rest of Asia is being supported by the positive data from China. Trade data there revealed much stronger than expected exports, which jumped 25.0% in January from a year earlier, up from 14.1% in December. The annual inflation rate also eased from 2.5% to 2.0%. The Chinese new year holiday commences this weekend meaning many markets will be disrupted next week during the holiday period.”

According to FX Strategist Robert Rennie at Westpac, “Japanese investors had started selling down Australian assets in H2 last year on a number of occasions and as recent data suggests, we should upgrade that view to reflect the fact that Japanese sales of AUS assets late last year hit an all time record high.”